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Tampa Bay Lightning Interested In Luke Schenn

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The Tampa Bay Lightning and Luke Schenn had a nice time together. Two years, two Stanley Cup championships. Then they parted ways, with one choosing security and proximity to family. Now it seems that they might want to rekindle an old fling. The Lightning have shown interest in re-acquiring Schenn from the Vancouver Canucks, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Schenn, 33, won back-to-back championships with the Lightning before signing a two-year deal with the Vancouver canucks in 2021. That contract is about to expire, and the physical depth defender has drawn some interest from all over the league as the perfect deadline addition.

He’s relatively cheap, costing just $850K against the cap, right-handed, and has 15 years of experience in the NHL. He’s also in the midst of his best per-game offensive season, with 14 points in 43 games so far in Vancouver.

Schenn has over 200 hits already this season, easily leading the league. While that isn’t always indicative of success (the other team has to have the puck for you to deliver a hit), it may be exactly what the Lightning are after.

Friedman notes that they are also looking for “a forward with an edge.” They’ve targeted players like Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, and Nick Paul in the past to great success.

The Lightning won’t be the only team considering Schenn, but if they are set on him, they’ve shown a willingness to pay whatever it takes at the deadline. Tampa Bay is focused on championships, and has enough faith in their scouting and development system to move high draft picks. Schenn shouldn’t cost a first-rounder or anything, but he’ll be a nice chip for the Canucks as the deadline nears.

Buffalo Sabres Looking To Move Vinnie Hinostroza

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Buried in Elliotte Friedman’s latest 32 Thoughts blog for Sportsnet is a small note about Vinnie Hinostroza. The Buffalo Sabres are trying to find him “a place to play,” writes Friedman, which was further clarified by Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News. The Sabres are calling around to find a new home for Hinostroza, who has been scratched repeatedly this season.

Hinostroza, 28, seemed to find a home in Buffalo last season, scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 62 games. He was a nice depth scorer for the club, but that was while they were still rebuilding and losing most nights. This season, with some added depth at forward, he finds himself regularly in the press box, having only appeared in 19 games so far.

He still has eight points during those games, but all of them have been assists. Hinostroza hasn’t scored yet, and has just 23 shots on goal.

Signed to a one-year, $1.7MM contract, it’s hard to see him fetching much on the open market. The Sabres are trying to do him a favor and it likely won’t be of much benefit to their future. At the deadline, perhaps a team adds him for a playoff run, but finding him a regular home right now would likely be limited to rebuilding clubs that want a sweetener of some sort.

With cap space so tight around the league, it’s not like teams will be lining up to grab a $1.7MM 13th forward, even if they do believe he has a bit more upside than that.

Chicago Blackhawks Recall Jaxson Stauber

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Another day, another recall for Jaxson Stauber of the Chicago Blackhawks. The minor league goaltender is back up after Petr Mrazek was run out of the building on Saturday. Mrazek allowed four goals on five shots before being pulled against the Seattle Kraken.

If you want a strong signal that the Blackhawks management is focused on the first overall pick, Mrazek’s continued presence is it. The veteran goaltender has an .875 save percentage on the year, a 4.26 goals-against average, and has won just three of his 16 appearances.

Stauber’s recall could suggest that there is an injury, or perhaps that Alex Stalock isn’t ready yet. Yesterday, the coaching staff told reporters including Mark Lazerus of The Athletic that Stalock would likely start against the Buffalo Sabres. Lazerus adds that Stalock is not on the ice for morning skate. (Update: Stalock is in concussion protocol and will not play)

The 23-year-old Stauber has played 12 professional games, all of them with the Rockford IceHogs. He has an .896 save percentage in those appearances. Undrafted, he was signed out of Providence College last year.

Boston Bruins Recall Joona Koppanen

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Jan 17: After Koppanen joined Wagner in the minor leagues for a few days in between, the big forward is back up with the Bruins. He’ll head out on the road with them as they prepare to face the New York Islanders and New York Rangers in a back-to-back this week.

Jan 11: The Boston Bruins have swapped a pair of depth forwards, sending Chris Wagner back to the AHL and recalling Joona Koppanen in his place. This is Koppanen’s first recall of the season.

The 24-year-old winger has never appeared in an NHL game, playing exclusively with the Providence Bruins the last two seasons. A fifth-round pick from 2016, Koppanen is on a one-year, two-way contract that he signed last summer to stay in the organization.

Though he stands 6’5″ and towers over most of his opponents, Koppanen is not overly physical and instead uses his long reach as a tool defensively, especially on the penalty kill. Interestingly enough, Mark Divver of NHL.com tweeted yesterday that Koppanen had a bit of a “disagreement” with teammate Connor Carrick at practice. Divver followed up today with some words from the Providence coaching staff, saying that the big forward had been “unbelievable” and “absolutely outstanding” in the last few games.

While he technically received a Black Aces call-up last season, this is really Koppanen’s first chance at the NHL level. Wagner played just over 12 and a half minutes on Sunday in his only appearance of the season. If Koppanen takes that role tomorrow against the Seattle Kraken, it will be his NHL debut.

Armia, Evans, Slafkovsky Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Montreal Canadiens have moved three forwards to injured reserve, giving the designation to Joel Armia, Jake Evans, and Juraj Slafkovsky. All three will be out indefinitely, while additional testing is performed. In their place, Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Rem Pitlick have been recalled.

Sean Monahan has also been moved to long-term injured reserve as he continues to rehab, though the team does not he is “progressing well.”

Armia is dealing with an upper-body injury, potentially one suffered on a hit from Jacob Trouba on Sunday. The Finnish forward played over 18 minutes in the game, but now is obviously dealing with something that will keep him sidelined. Armia has just seven points so far on the season and has been a healthy scratch several times, as he struggles to reach the heights that he was playing at a few years ago.

Slafkovsky also played in that game, but saw just over nine minutes of ice time. The top prospect is dealing with a lower-body issue. It hasn’t been quite the season many expected of the big Slovak, as Slafkovsky has just four goals in 39 games. He has shown flashes of high-level scoring ability but is too often overmatched by the speed of the NHL. Several times this season he has been caught with his head down by a heavy check, something he will have to adapt to moving forward.

Evans, meanwhile, may be dealing with the worst injury of the bunch. It at least looked that way when he crumpled at center ice on Saturday, piled on after a faceoff scrum. The 26-year-old forward was playing the best hockey of his season but is now dealing with a lower-body injury that kept him out of Sunday’s game.

If you are a proponent of the “tank,” then losing three regular forwards might be time for celebration. But the Canadiens are also trying to build a culture under head coach Martin St. Louis, and losing Slafkovsky in particular doesn’t help that move forward. The team’s depth will be seriously tested, though Harvey-Pinard and Pitlick are capable replacements.

Vancouver Canucks, Andrei Kuzmenko Working On Extension

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While most of the headlines from today’s news conference with Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford will be about the “major surgery” coming up for the roster, or the lame-duck status of Bruce Boudreau, there was at least one nugget of positive news for fans.

Rutherford said that the team had started negotiations with Andrei Kuzmenko on an extension, ahead of the Russian winger becoming a free agent in July. Because he was 26 when the Canucks signed him, Kuzmenko was limited to a one-year entry-level contract last summer.

An extension will certainly come at a much higher price, given how well he has transitioned to life in the NHL. The offensive winger has 17 goals and 38 points in 42 games, while averaging just under 16 minutes a night. While there are flaws to his game, that kind of production can’t be overlooked.

Keeping a player of Kuzmenko’s caliber is certainly a positive – or at least it would be in most situations. Some might argue that for the Canucks, signing him is actually moving in the wrong direction. Rutherford himself talked today about how he hadn’t given the team enough cap-related freedom in his time there. Signing Kuzmenko certainly won’t help that, even if he is deserving of a raise.

The crux of that decision is in some of Rutherford’s other comments. He believes that the team can be competitive within the next three years, and that it has plenty of talented players already in place. Signing Kuzmenko, then, would make sense.

But there is a legitimate argument to be made that the Canucks should instead just cash in on their asset. Because he was limited to an ELC, Kuzmenko’s price tag is extremely low, relative to his production. That kind of asset would be very valuable on the trade market, especially with the possibility of an acquiring team extending him themselves.

It doesn’t look like that’s what the plan is here, given Rutherford’s explanation that the Canucks won’t be heading into a rebuild. Instead, another extension appears to be around the corner – albeit with a deserving player.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Letang, Gonchar

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The NHL has released its Three Stars for last week, with Seattle Kraken goaltender Martin Jones taking top spot. The honor continues what has been an incredible run for the 33-year-old netminder. In each of the last three seasons (two with the San Jose Sharks and one with the Philadelphia Flyes), Jones has failed to eclipse 17 wins. This year, through 31 appearances, he has 21. That is despite putting up a save percentage – .895 – that is actually slightly lower than any he has posted in the past. Jones has faced more than 30 shots just five times this season.

Second and third went to two wingers at very different stages of their careers. Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings is just trying to establish himself as a consistent presence in the league, while Nikita Kucherov continues on his Hall of Fame track. Each one collected three goals and seven points in three games last week.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins are expecting Kris Letang to return to the team in the next few days. The veteran defenseman was away dealing with the death of his father, and hasn’t played since December 28. The Penguins have 40 games left in the season, and Letang needs to play in 30 of them to reach 1,000 for his career.
  • Sergei Gonchar, who last coached in the NHL during the 2019-20 season, may be on his way back to join Rick Tocchet with the Vancouver Canucks, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. While Tocchet’s hiring isn’t official, Friedman seems to believe it is inevitable at this point, suggesting it could happen within the next few weeks. Today, Jim Rutherford admitted that he had been in contact with potential replacements.

Nick Robertson, Mac Hollowell Undergo Surgery

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that Nick Robertson and Mac Hollowell have both undergone surgery. Robertson’s procedure was to his shoulder, and will keep him out for the next six months. Hollowell had a procedure on a fractured kneecap and will be out a minimum of 12 weeks.

It’s a brutal blow for Robertson, who has not been able to stay healthy in his pro career. The undersized forward (and younger brother of Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson) has now played just 82 total games over the last three seasons. That’s at all levels, with just 31 of them coming with the Maple Leafs.

For a player who scored 55 goals in 46 games during his post-draft year, there were huge expectations for the 2019 second-rounder. He made his NHL debut during the Maple Leafs’ 2020 bubble playoffs, and scored his first goal. But injuries have kept him off the ice since then, and inconsistent playing time has limited him to just seven NHL points.

By the time he’s ready to return next season, he’ll be 22 and quite removed from that exceptional junior season. There’s no telling whether Robertson will ever be able to live up to the potential he showed, given how much time he has missed.

Hollowell, meanwhile, made his NHL debut this season and recorded two assists in six games for the Maple Leafs. The fourth-round pick had progressed steadily through the system and appeared to have climbed considerably up the organizational depth chart.

Now, with a 12-week recovery timeline, it seems likely that he won’t get any more NHL time this season. As a restricted free agent this summer eligible for arbitration, he needs a new deal. After missing so much time, it might end up being prudent for him to accept a qualifying offer and hope to rebound from a tough injury.

Edmonton Oilers Reassign Markus Niemelainen

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The Edmonton Oilers have sent Markus Niemelainen to the minor leagues, clearing a roster spot for the imminent return of Evander Kane. Speaking with reporters including Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic today, Kane – who was a full participant at practice – explained that he is meeting with doctors later today.

Of course, the Oilers will have to make some other moves to activate Kane from long-term injured reserve. The team currently does not have the cap space to fit him back in, and will need to be rather creative to open it.

One easy way would be moving Kailer Yamamoto to LTIR, though that would require him to miss nearly a month. Yamamoto is still being evaluated, according to head coach Jay Woodcroft, after missing the last couple of games.

They could also just waive a player like Devin Shore, who also wasn’t at practice today. Ryan Murray, who hasn’t played since November, could also be shifted to LTIR depending on what other moves they make.

Either way, it’s the end of Niemelainen for a while, after he was essentially passed on the depth chart by Vincent Desharnais. The last two times Niemelainen appeared, he received just five and six shifts respectively. The 24-year-old defenseman will try to polish his game further in the minor leagues and wait for his next opportunity.

Detroit Red Wings Activate Robert Hagg

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With Alex Nedeljkovic clearing waivers today, the Detroit Red Wings were able to clear a roster spot by sending him to the Grand Rapids Griffins. While some expected that spot to go to Filip Zadina, it is a different injured player who will be activated. Robert Hagg is coming off injured reserve to take Nedeljkovic’s spot, after missing more than a month.

Hagg, 27, has played just 13 games this season, with his only appearance in two months coming on December 8. The depth defender was brought in as part of a physical overhaul on the back end, but hasn’t been able to stay healthy or in the lineup so far.

His activation gives the team eight healthy defensemen, meaning someone may end up getting moved out when Zadina is ready. If that’s Hagg, he would require waivers to go to the AHL.

While Steve Yzerman and company have now slid two big names through waivers in Nedeljkovic and Jakub Vrana, it might not be so safe to expose Hagg, even if he has struggled this year. Signed to just $800K, there may be a defense-needy team on the lookout for someone like him. Remember, less than a year ago the Florida Panthers sent a sixth-round pick for Hagg to bring him in at the deadline – and that was when he had a cap hit of $1.6MM.

The Red Wings can likely make a similar move, if they can prove he is healthy enough to contribute. In 313 career games, the big-hitting Hagg has 58 points.

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